Sad game…sad year

OK – I won’t waste any more time with playoff scenarios. I won’t even waste much time going through all the problems with the team. I will simply say for now, Ted Thompson and the front office need to make some changes this off-season. We are simply not very good this year and after last year, it is really, really disappointing.

I was listening to Larry McCarren after the game. He said that the major difference in the Packers this year from last year is their inability to make the big stop. He said it cost them the season. My question is this: will Bob Sanders keep his job?

“When was the last time our defense gave up that many yards at Lambeau field?” – The famous (infamous?) Monday Night game against the Redskins in 1983. Great game (because the Packers won ;) ) Lynn Dicky was sick that night…

After the game I was so PO’d that I needed some therapy. I ran out of straw so making baskets was out of the question. So, I sat down to my key board and took the Packer rooster and decided to use my own rating system to evaluate what it is that is going so wrong.

First, I developed four categories; Excels,OK, Poor and Stinks (Only slightly tongue in cheek). I started with the defensive line as of the current rooster. Here is the way I see it:

Kampman – Rating – About halfway between Excels and OK. By far the best of the members of this unit. Not as strong on the run as he could be, but without his rush what would they have?

Pickett – Rating – OK Good at run stopping opponents within his reach. Very slow lateral movement limits his overall performance.

Harrell – Rating – Stinks is as low as the ratings go, so!! A squishy Pilsbury Dough Boy. A waste of a uniform.

Cole – Rating – Poor. He is inconsistent. At times he can show potential and then fall back into lack luster performance. If he can develop some consistency he could be OK.

Thompson – Rating – Poor. He showed some potential earlier in the year. A problem with injuries seems to be developing. This could be a bad sign, knowing TT’s ability to take chances on damaged goods (Can you say Harrell?). If he can play more regularly and continue his early season development he has some possibilities.

Hunter – Rating – Stinks. He got a lucky bounce last week and made some headlines. For someone with legendary physical attributes, he can’t even get much playing time on a really bad defensive line.

Malone – Rating – Hee, Hee, Hee

Of course Cullen Jenkis is not on the regular rooster and will return next year. When he went out he was probably the only member of the D line to be playing at Excels level. However, this is the second injury for him and I’m affraid that could spell future problems.

Take it for what it’s worth. Of the nine players on the rooster plus Jenkins only four should even be considered safe for return. Kampman, Pickett, Jolly, and Jenkins.

Ron – I like your rating system. I’d have to agree with your rankings for the most part. I would say one quieter factor for our D-Line has been a highly suspect overall performance from Ryan Pickett. I wonder if his injury from before the season has affected him more than we realize. Couple with a seriously under-performing Jolly right next to him – we have been very vulnerable up the middle. I think back to when Jenkins was healthy and even then, our D-Line didn’t look great I think because the middle was so weak. If Jenkins would have played through this season I do think the line may have come together better – but I’m not sure we would have been much better off.

Andy, I don’t know if Pickett was ever great at lateral movement, but this year he is incapable of moving more than one gap. Last year, I seem to remember him being involved in tackles on off tackle plays. This year nothing out of the middle.

I’m still wondering how Aaron Kampman is receiving accolades that he’s not earning on the field. I did not see yesterday’s game, but for the season I’d rate him just ok. Sure, he’s been better than Montgomery or Harrell, but that’s not setting a real high bar. He isn’t playing anywhere close to what he’s played in the past, nor close to how Cullen Jenkins was playing earlier in the season. The line definitely misses Jenkins and yes, Corey Williams. By not signing Williams, the front office took a risk that is now being called in. The D line now has zero depth, and only slightly more talent.

The LBs have been similarly ineffective. I think the entire planet is coming around to something that I knew several years ago- that Brady Poppinga is no more an NFL player than I am. I just want to know why it took so long to figure it out. And this season, AJ Hawk really has been Just A Guy. Is his injury affecting him that much? As maligned as Barnett has been, he’s better than anyone out there right now.

Bucky – I agree to some extent on Kampman. I don’t think he’s been stellar this year. I think he would be the first to tell you that he’s had a mediocre season. I also think that Ron’s point re his run defense is a good one. He just seems to be a bit less involved in the run game than previous years. Maybe teams are running to the other side (I certainly would), but he just hasn’t been as noticeable. One other thing I don’t know, but I suspect is that his pressures on the QB are down – he seems less disruptive than past years.

That said, I would probably rate him a fraction above the “OK” level. Here’s why: he is 11th in sacks (still getting sacks) and my guess is he probably has been receiving a fair bit of double team attention because opposing teams don’t have to worry about any of the other guys on our line. If someone reviews any games though and finds that Kampman is NOT receiving much double team attention, then I would actually drop his rating to OK or below.

Packers this year–pathetic. Injuries decimated the already marginal defense. At one point yesterday we had 6 men on the field on D that started at the beginning of the year. Dbacks and LBs–Gone were Bigby, Rouse, Collins (in and out), Barnett, Chillar (not orig starter). Left us with Woodson and our #4 safety on the field. Poppinga-can cover anyone. Bishop had a couple of good plays but Daniels chewed him up later in the game. Linebackers cannot cover. Limited pass rush. Colledge blew it in key moment again on Packers last drive-gave up game losing sack. Officiating not good yesterday-phantom holding call on Moll in final drive killed us. Lost 5 games by 4 points or less, unlucky bounces and injuries, terrible field position for last 8 games or so (until yesterday), incompetent coaching (Stock and Sanders) all says not to worry in 09, Pack will be back (with a couple of free agent D linemen for a change). Rodgers, Tramon Williams and W. Blackmon (on kicks only) were our better than expected performers. My season ending comments now because THE SEASON IS OVER.

This season is definitely not what I was hoping for. It’s been frustrating, disheartening and makes me want to bang my head against the wall frequently.

But I still think there is a lot of hope for next season. For one thing, this season forces the Packers to acknowledge the big flaws on the team. I tend to think a lot of the issues from this year were there last year – we just got enough breaks and enough success to cover them up.

For another, we still have a lot of good players on the team. Jackson has shown himself to be pretty good, Grant has improved from the beginning of the season, Rodgers is in the top 10 QBs in the league when looking at passer rating, Chillar has been a pretty good addition to the team, Woodson rocks, Williams has shown he can be a good CB and our receivers are still fantstic. There is a lot to build off of on this team.

I think our problems come down to the lines. We aren’t controlling the line of scrimmage and that is hurting us. We need an O-line that can actually protect Rodgers and open up holes for the RBs. And we need a D-line that can get pressure and limit the work our secondary needs to do. I honestly think it can be done, espeically since this season is going to force the organization to do some soul searching. Maybe we’ll get especially lucky and we’ll get new coaches for the defense and special teams.

Andy and Belle, Only question I have is this, what makes any of us think that TT will learn anything? I have never seen him demonstrate any flexibilty is his decison making process, ever. At Seattle Holmgren was his boss and could temper his actions. In GB, no one controls him.

We don’t know if he will learn anything but if he doesn’t he’ll be out of there sooner rather than later. However, I think TT has shown that he will address issues on the field. For example, he signed Chillar because of the inability of the D to cover a TE. Part of the problem this year, is that some of these issues I don’t think people expected. Clifton played extremely well last year and he’s been crap this year. Our D wasn’t fantastic last year but it was far superior to what it is now.

Something happened between last year and this year and I’m not quite sure what. But I don’t think many people would have predicted a season like this. And I think we were a little blind after the wonder of last year. I don’t think we were really a 13-3 team last year. I think we were a 9-7/10-6 team that got some lucky breaks. And this year we aren’t getting those breaks – five of our losses were by 4 points or less.

TT and MM might have just gotten really lucky last year. Or they might have just gotten a Murphy’s law year this year. I don’t know, but I’m willing to give them the chance to make changes before I start calling for their heads.

i’d be interested to know what the o-line and d-line free agents are this upcoming off-season. i’m too buzy (hybrid of busy/lazy, leaning toward the latter) at the moment, but wouldn’t it be fun to spend the next 6 months or so wondering why thompson isn’t making a bid for any of them? i think that would be just peachy.

From that list, it looks like both Colin Cole and Mike Montgomery are UFAs. I have a hard time imagining that either will draw much interest, so they may be worth signing as depth.

As for bringing in someone new, the Packers need a DT far more than they need a DE. This is doubly true if Kampman is as good as everyone else thinks he is. Haynesworth is clearly the best of this group, character issues aside. Not sure who else is worth any money. Certainly not Grady Jackson and Kenny Peterson. We could also use some LB help. Ray Lewis is on the list, and he’s still performing at a high level.

It’s also worth remembering that teams like the Pats are a ble to find some pretty good bargains in the free agent market. You fon’t always need to be signing the high profile guys; sometimes getting three of the regular guy FAs is better than landing the whale.

Bucky – I think Grady Jackson is an option. He has played really well for Atlanta this year. Jackson next to Pickett would be a difficult line to move around.

Bucky, I’m glad you mentioned the Patriots. Whenever people talk about how great TT’s system is (draft way more important than free agency) – I stop and think about the Patriots. They are very active in free agency. Sure, they’ll pick up good players in the draft simply because every team gets to draft players. But they seem to be the masters of quality free agent pick-ups. Sometimes they spend a fortune on a free agent (Adalius Thomas) and sometimes they spend surprisingly little. Sometimes they trade for players (Wes Welker) and part with draft picks because they know the player will be good. Any way they do it, they are out there active in free agency and active in the trade market and their system has proven to be as effective as any.

You wanna know what’s really gonna suck (Besides this year)? Detroit goes 1-15, winning their last game if the year–against GB. I’ve just got this naggin feeling that Culpepper’s going to pick us apart.

Oh yeah-one observaton about the Favre thing. Brett has proven that he is very good with or without the Packers. The Packers have NOT proven that they are very good with or without Brett.

Oh yeah–you guys know alot more aout the workings of the Packers than I. I’ve just been a die hard fan for 40 years. Suppose it was decided to clean house–get rid of Murphy, Mcarthy & Thompson. Since there is no owner, how doeds that happen? Is it up to the Board iof Directors or what?

Not suggesting nthat is what will happen or even that it should–just curious about the logistics..

I’m not so sure Brett has proven that he is “very good” without the Packers. He’s got 20 touchdowns and 15 picks, with an 88.2 passer rating (down 7.5 points from last year), as opposed to our current QB, who has 22 TDs and 11 INTs, and a passer rating of 92.1. In the last two games (crunch time, if you will), against Denver and San Fran- not exactly the stoutest defenses in the league- he’s thrown for 0 TDs, 2 picks, and a 60.9 passer rating.